Cake is Like Tennis
by ultimatedramaqueen
Summary: Enter Maya Takeuchi, Ryoma's cousin. The boys of Seigaku get to meet the girls from Maya's tennis team. Why are the girls' reasons for playing tennis? Read and find out. SeigakuxOC. Lots of OC's even obsessive compulsive ones.
1. Chapter One

Hmmm...let's see. I really couldn't help myself! To those who are still waiting for me to update my other stories, please don't kill me. I just needed to write a story for PoT! Anyway. It starts off with way too much humor and not enough romance; but, to those who do thirst greatly for romance, don't worry: There will be lots of it later on. Well just keep reading and tell me what you think. Therfore, dear readers, I present to you Chapter 1 entitled "Chapter One"!

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Chapter One:

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"Where's Ryoma? Not here again?"

"It seems that he's late again today, Ryuzaki-sensei," Tezuka answered seriously.

Ryuzaki Sumire sighed.

"That makes it the twelfth time this month," Inui said, once again scribbling into his notebook. "His attendance and tardiness rates show a 20 percent increase in exhaustion level…"

"Oh, look! Look! It's Ochibi nya!" Eiji excitedly pounced onto Oishi's back, nearly strangling his doubles partner.

"Ack! Eiji! I can't breathe!"

"Oi! Ochibi! Ohayou!" Eiji yelled out while waving with one hand and hanging onto a blue-faced Oishi with the other.

"Ohayou, senpai-tachi" Echizen replied dully with a yawn.

"Nya! Ochibi's so mean. Late again and with nothing nicer to say on such a nice day!"

"Enough with that, Eiji. We'll be late for the game if we don't hurry," Ryuzaki-sensei said.

"Game? What game?" Momoshiro scratched his head.

"Fshuuuu! You weren't listening again during practice yesterday!" Kaidou growled at his rival.

"What's that, Mamushi?! You wanna fight huh?! Come on!"

"Ah! Momo-chan-senpai and Kaidou-senpai are fighting again!" Horio yelled out in panic.

"Enough." Immediately, Kaidou and Momoshiro stopped arguing to apologize to Tezuka for seemingly ruining a not so bad morning.

"The day is saved by Tezuka-buchou! I knew he would say something like that."

"That's not something to brag about Horio-kun," Kachiro said to his classmate with sweatdrops visibly forming upon his and Katsuo's brows.

"Quickly, this way. I want to introduce you to some people before the matches start." Ryuzaki-sensei interrupted and quickly led the way with the Seigaku team struggling to catch up with her—all of them that is besides Tezuka and Fuji who seemed uncharacteristically silent that morning. (A/N: I wonder why myself. Must have been too much wasabi in his food or a terrible lack of it. Haha.)

"Sensei, you said that the Tennis Semifinals for the Girls Division is today; but why is it so important that all of us have to come meet them?" Oishi asked, once again concerned that something would go amiss in that day's activities.

"Ah!" Eiji suddenly yelled out.

"What is it Eiji?" Oishi anxiously asked.

"Where's Taka-san?! He's not here!"

"Ah. Taka-san already said yesterday that he could not make it because he needs to help with the sushi restaurant. You remember he said that once Nationals was over he would have to play less tennis and make more sushi," Oishi explained sadly.

"Oh, yeah. SO sad." Eiji said with a finger under his chin. "We became No. 1 seeded in Japan but then Taka-san had to stop playing."

"There's nothing that can be done," Tezuka said more seriously than usual.

"Aa..Hai," Eiji replied scratching his head.

"Hurry up, boys. You might get lost if we get separated," Ryuzaki-sensei loudly said.

"H-Hai!" The Tennis Club members quickened their pace and followed after their coach.

"Here we are." Ryuzaki-sensei stopped walking so suddenly that Eiji nearly walked into her causing Momo to bump into him and then Kaidou to trip over the two resulting in Echizen spilling his Ponta onto Oishi's shirt when his arm was hit by the flailing arms of the three who toppled over.

"Do not be careless." Tezuka had been able to avoid the collision due to his luck in following the lead of Fuji, who had somehow anticipated what was going to happen.

"Hmm…Not bad Tezuka," Fuji said with his usual smile plastered onto his face. "Too bad, we couldn't all see what would have happened if you had stood closer."

Tezuka barely twitched but everyone could see the vein on the side of his head pulsing. "Fuji, would you like to run laps today?"

"Saa. But Ryuzaki-sensei said there is to be no physical training today."

Tezuka sighed.

"Now now. Don't be so rude and come greet the team we're cheering for today," Ryuzaki-sensei said.

"Only for today? Ryuzaki-sensei, that will not do. It definitely won't do." The speaker's face was serious.

Ryuzaki-sensei smiled and replied, "Ah, Maya! If I didn't know you better I would think you were serious."

The girl called Maya suddenly smiled and bowed. "It is good to see you, sensei." Facing the Seigaku team, she bowed and said, "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. I am Takeuchi Maya. Oh, Ryoma! You came." Maya smiled more widely and switched to English, "_It's been awhile; how're Aunt Rinko and Uncle Nanjiroh doing?_"

Ryoma smiled back and answered, "_Yes. Mother's fine—quite busy. Dad's the same as always._"

Switching back to Japanese, she said, "I saw a video of your games. You're all so good. I wish I could play at such a level."

"Heh?" Ryoma grinned, "I thought you said that you were going to learn to do that. I guess it's Mada Mada Dane for you."

"Mada Mada Dane?! When'd you get so cocky, Ryoma_-kun_?"

"Oi, Ochibi. Introduce us to your friend!" Eiji suddenly glomped Ryoma from behind.

"Yeah, Echizen. Don't keep the chick all to yourself!" Momo added.

"Senpai, don't say that. She'll get angry. Right…" Echizen turned to ask Maya for confirmation but stopped when he saw her hands tightly fisted and her head hung low. "Uh-oh. You've done it now Momo-senpai. She's really angry." Ryoma quickly ran behind his teammates.

"Huh? Ochibi! What are you doing behind Kaidou, nya?" Eiji asked.

Fuji calmly said, "He's bracing up for the storm that's coming."

"Huh? What storm?" Looking up and seeing a clear blue sky, the red-headed king of acrobatic plays became even more confused.

"Eiji, he means that Maya-san looks like she's going to get very angry very soon. And Ryoma knows what it's like," Oishi explained while exhaling from slight exasperation at his friends obliviousness.

Ryoma peeked out from behind Kaidou. "Oh! Maya-nee-chan is alright? Eh?! Since when?"

Maya by now was smiling with her hands behind her back. It seemed that whatever anger she had previously was all gone. "Ryoma-_kun_. That's so mean. You think so lowly of me. I don't lose my temper so easily, you know."

"I know, Nee-chan. It's just that what Momo-senpai just said was usually one of the few things that ever made you mad."

"Yeah, you're right. But you know I have solved my temper problems," Maya suddenly grinned.

"Huh?"

"I get even. I expect complete remuneration for the energy lost when I lose my temper. Therefore, Momo-chan here will buy me cake!"

"Oh no! Buchou! What are you doing again? You're bullying the poor boy." A girl with dark brown hair tied up in a low ponytail suddenly appeared. She was smiling quite calmly despite her statement.

"Huh?" Maya turned her head to look at the newcomer. "Oh, Rui. I was so not bullying him. He started it. You know he made me angry."

Rui just kept on smiling then suddenly as if she just realized something horrible her eyes opened wide, then to everyone's surprise she suddenly ran to Momo, grabbed his arm, and started to drag him away.

"Matte! What are you doing?!"

"Quick! Quick! Run! You must get buchou some cake!" Rui seemed to be visibly panicking now.

"Huh? Nande?" Momo stopped resisting for a second because of his confusion. Rui, seeing her chance, quickly dragged him even further away. In a few seconds they were nowhere to be seen.

"What was that, nya?" Eiji said, scratching his head.

Everyone's eyes were twitching, including Ryuzaki-sensei's. "Maya, what did you do to the girl?" The coach asked.

"Me? Nothing much."

"Nothing much, she says. Nothing much!" A pair of hands came down on Maya's shoulders. A reddish-haired girl with short pigtails peeked over Maya's shoulder.

Maya turned to look at her and with no change in her smile said, "Rei."

Rei's eye twitched and a nerve pulsed on her head. "Buchou! What have you done to send Rui running with a cute boy in tow?! Not fair! I saw him first!"

It was Maya's turn to sweatdrop. "Rei, she wasn't dragging him away because she's interested," then putting a finger against her chin she said, "At least I don't think so."

"Then why?! Buchou! Why?!"

"Is it just me or why does it seem like we're in a manga?" Oishi said.

"Mm," Tezuka nodded.

"Saa," Fuji said.

"Heh? It's just like Nee-chan to do something like this," Ryoma added.

"WHAT?!" Rei screamed. "He made you angry?! Wah! Which way did they go?!" Rei desperately looked left then right. Seigaku sweatdropped. Maya pointed in the right direction and Rei zoomed away after Rui and Momo. "I'm going to help them!" she declared.

"Maya-san seems to be quite scary. Her teammates seemed to be calm people until they heard about Momo. Don't you think so, Tezuka." Tezuka nodded.

Maya suddenly turned to them as if hearing what Fuji just said. She smiled brightly and ran to them. Grabbing Fuji's hands she said, "Ah, Fuji-kun! I saw your game. It was so cool. I wanna play like that too. Lets have a match!"

"Eh?" Fuji smile did not disappear though. "Normally when I stand next to Tezuka; he's the one whom people say that to."

"Tezuka? Him?" She looked at Tezuka and asked with disbelief, "You're Tezuka?" He nodded. "I am."

"Really? I thought you were a teacher," Maya said, cocking her head to one side.

A nerve pulsed on Tezuka's head and his eye twitched. "I am wearing my Seigaku uniform, Takeuchi-san."

"So I see." Maya said seriously, then she suddenly stepped closer to Tezuka and stared at him for a long time. Tezuka stared back. The other Seigaku members jumped when Maya turned abruptly and resumed holding Fuji's hands and squealing in excitement that she wanted to have a match with him. Tezuka merely blinked in surprise. Fuji looked quite embarrassed that he was so obviously favored over Tezuka in front of everyone. "Maya-san. I'll play a match with you some other day. Don't you have several matches to play today?"

"Oh right! I forgot! It's the semifinals today. Quickly we should hurry over to the court; my team is waiting, well besides Rei and Rui." She walked very quickly talking about nonsensical stuff to Fuji the rest of the way. Fuji simply grinned from ear to ear.

"Buchou! Over here!" A petite girl with her hair in long braid was jumping up and down and waving enthusiastically.

"Fujika-chan! Is everyone here?"

"Rei and Rui are missing."

"Oh, they're just doing some errands. They'll be back soon. Anyway we've already turned in the playing orders. They're doing Doubles 1 also so they don't have to be here at the moment."

"Oh that's so sad, Buchou. I have no one to talk to. Junko is ignoring me. Murasaki Midori-sama is on the phone again and Fukubuchou is too quiet to talk to!"

"What about Fumi?"

"She's gone. Sleeping again."

"Ahhh…"

"Oh! Almost forgot. I'm Fujikage Madoka."

"Oh good idea Fujika-chan. Introductions first. Besides Ryuzaki-sensei, Tezuka-sensei—I mean Tezuka-san—Fuji-kun, and Ryoma, I don't even know the names of Seigaku. And you don't know the names of Musashi Gakuen's first ever Girls Tennis Club."

"Ohh…"

"Waa…"

"First ever!"

"That's right! I, along with Tezuka and Murasaki, are the founders of the Musashi Gakuen Girls Tennis Club."

"Tezuka? You mean buchou?" Eiji asked. "Tezuka knows Maya-chan, nya?"

"Of course not _that_ Tezuka. I mean Tezuka Kaname."

"Oh….."

"Wait. That sounds familiar," Oishi said. "Tezuka, didn't you have a sister named Kaname."

"Hai."

"Eh?! Tezuka-buchou's imouto?!"

"Aniki." A beautiful girl with short dark brown hair and well-defined features stepped forward.

"Kaname." Tezuka nodded.

The siblings stood a foot away from one another. "How are you, Kaname?"

"I'm alright, Aniki. How are you? I heard that Aniki was injured in a match."

"I'm feeling much better now."

"Wow! What is this atmosphere?!" Horio shouted in surprise.

"It's like two strangers talking," Kachiro added.

"Are they really siblings?" Katsuo asked.

Fuji smiled, as always "Saa…"

"Yup, they are," Maya said. "See, they're so alike."

"Ah, no wonder, Maya-chan seemed unimpressed by Tezuka. She was already used to seeing Tezuka, only in a female version," Eiji said.

"Ah, Maya-nee-chan has been busy, nee?" Ryoma commented.

"Buchou!!" Everyone turned to look at the two who had yelled out loud. Rei and Rui were running towards the group with a dazed Momo in tow. "We got your cake, Buchou!! Momo-san even paid for it."

"Yeah! Cake! Weee!" Maya literally jumped for joy.

Everyone sweatdropped.

"It was just cake, nya. Why are Rei-chan and Rui-chan running like crazy?" Eiji said with a disappointed pout.

"It's not just any cake, Neko-san," Rui insisted. "It is Maya-buchou's precious lucky cake! DO you know what happens when buchou does NOT get her lucky cake?"

"Mm-hm," Rei nodded vigorously, "When buchou does not get her _wonderous gloriful_ cake, we lose. And do you know what that means?!"

Rei and Rui looked at one another exchanging horror-filled glances.

"What does it mean? What does it mean, nya?" Eiji was tense from the suspense. Well so was everyone. What exactly did the captain do whenever they lost?

"Hi-mit-su, Neko-san," Rei said, winking and holding a finger up against her lips.

"Nande?! I really wanna know. That's so mean; the suspense is pure torture."

"Mm-mm," the others nodded save Tezaku and Fuji.

"Well," Rei said. She looked at Maya, who nodded, momentarily then said, "I really don't want to tell, but 'coz you're cute, I'll tell you what's happened whenever we lose."

"Really?" Eiji said with bright eager eyes.

Rei grinned and continued, "But you see, there's a slight problem with that."

Rui nodded.

"What problem?!" Eiji asked. He could no longer stand not knowing.

"We've never lost an official match before, so we've never had to suffer from the punishment buchou promised to impose upon us if we disappoint."

"EHH?!" Most of Seigaku could not hold in the exclamations of surprise.

"Well, it's not so hard to imagine since we only started joining the tournaments this school year," Maya explained.

"Hmm," Oishi said rubbing his chin in deep thought, "I see that does make sense, but that still is an impressive record."

"Musashi Gakuen. Musashi Gakuen?" A man dressed in the standard black and white stripes of an umpire called out.

"Here!" Rei said, raising her hand.

"Please get ready to line up. The match will start in five minutes."

"HAI!!" A chorus of voices answered.

Maya suddenly turned serious. Turning to the girl she had called Fujika-chan, she said, "Fujikage. Please call the others."

"Okay, buchou." Fujikage quickly ran off.

"Wait a minute," Eiji said, "we didn't even finish introductions."

Rui looked at him and nodded. "You're absolutely right."

Eiji beamed and said, "I'm Kikumaru Eiji of Seigaku's Golden Pair."

Rei grinned. "Nishiura Rei, second year. A pleasure to meet you all. I play doubles."

Eiji elbowed Oishi. "What? Oh, um," Oishi rubbed the back of his head. "Oishi Syuichirou. Vice-captain of Seigaku. I play doubles with Eiji."

"Next, next!"

"Nishimura Rui. Doubles with Rei. Same year as Rei." The brunette was smiling calmly once more—the cake incident seemingly forgotten.

"Fuji-senpai, is she your sister?" Ryoma asked the light-haired tensai of Seigaku. "You have the same face."

Fuji answered, "My sister is named Yumiko."

"They're not related?!" Horio yelled out after overhearing the conversation between the two tennis geniuses.

"Please lower your voice, Horio-kun. Kaidou–senpai is looking over at us," Katsuo said. The freshmen snuck glances at Kaidou who was indeed looking at them. His glare immediately silenced them and sent chills down their spines.

"Oi! Ochibi introduce yourself."

"Echizen Ryoma."

"Nya! Don't you have anything else to say?!" Eiji asked despairingly.

"Oh my gosh!! He's so cute!!"

Everyone jumped at the new voice that had squealed out.

"Oh dear! Oh dear! Where's my camera. Quick! Fujika take my picture with Chibi-chan over here!"

"Eh…Murasaki Midori-sama. I think you're strangling Echizen-kun."

"Oh? Really?" Murasaki Midori loosened her hold on Ryoma to look down at him in concern. Her face, now that she was not squealing, belonged to that of a clearly beautiful young woman with pale skin, an aristocratic nose and perfect lips. Her eyelashes were long and dark, and her face was exquisitely shaped. She let her long wavy purplish-black hair down past her shoulders—it was so dark it gave off a purple sheen. And her finely arched brow was now wrinkled in her sudden anxiety that she had killed off yet another cute creature.

"Here Murasaki Midori-sama. All done."

"Thank you, Fujikage." Midori looked up and snobbishly relinquished her camera from her teammate's hands.

She turned to face Seigaku and said, "I'm Murasaki Midori, a second year. Murasaki-san is fine although I do prefer Murasaki-sama."

"What a snob! Ne, Sakuno?" Tomoka said. "Hogging Ryoma-sama all to herself, then acting so high-and-mighty."

"Tomo-chan. Everyone can hear you," Sakuno chided. (Ha! These two finally appeared. I was just too lazy to put them in earlier.)

Indeed everyone had heard Tomoka's angry comment. Midori turned to look at Tomoka and Sakuno, and the two younger girls shrank away in fear from her icy glare.

"NEXT!" Midori commanded, without turning away from the girls.

"Momoshiro Takeshi. Second year. Seigaku's coolest player!"

"Uh-huh. Mischief boy."

"What did you say?!"

"Fshuuu! Your bothering others. Kaidou Kaoru. Second year."

"So, it's finally my turn," Fuji said with a smile. "Let's see. I'm Fuji Syusuke, a third year student. Taka-san, Kawamura Takashi, couldn't make it because he had to quit so that he can help with his family business. They make good wasabi sushi."

"I see. Interesting. And finally?"

Tezuka, with his usual glare, finally spoke. "Tezuka Kunimitsu. Third year. Captain of Seigaku."

"Hey! What about us?"

"Oh you two? Well, save the introductions for later," Midori told her teammates who had not yet been introduced. "The match is about to start."

"What? No fair! It's year-level discrimination!"

"Yeah. Senpai. Just because we're freshmen you're being mean to us." The petite girl who spoke pouted.

"Oh…alright but hurry."

"Hai!"

"I'm Nishikawa Fumi! First Year!" The petite girl said with a wide grin. She had big eyes and the most infectious smile.

"Ki Junko. First Year. Doubles with Madoka."

"Madoka?"

"She means Fujika-chan, nya!"

"Oh, thanks Eiji-senpai."

"Line up now."

"Yes, buchou!"

The girls quickly formed a straight line and entered the courts.

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Backstage:

Eiji: Hey, did you notice that there always seems to be time for the writer to fit in everything we just said? It was supposed to be just five minutes…

Inui: Aa…according to my data there were 315 words spoken within the supposed five minute time duration. This should mean that approximately 5 words per second were spoken assuming nobody breathed in between words and sentences. Taking lapses of conversation into account, it should be about 8 words per second. According to my data, this should not be possible unless the only people in the conversation were Eiji and Osakada from Seigaku and Fujikage-san and Midori-san from Musashi.

Midori: It's Murasaki-sama for you! Tall glasses boy!

Inui (ignore ignore): but then my data on Musashi is incomplete; and therefore there is a 10 percent chance for error in my calculations. Of course I can prove my theory with a good demonstration…

Fuji: It sounds like fun. Maybe there's a special Inui juice that enhances speed talking.

Everyone but Tezuka (he's thinking it just not saying it): FUJI!!

Inui: That's a possibility. The chances of success would be…

Oishi: Stop! Stop! I will never drink such a vile concoction!

Eiji: You said it, Oishi! Hoi! But why are we talking about this?

Momo: Yeah! Wasn't it supposed to be about the writer abusing us by making us talk too quickly?!

Kaidou: FSHUUU!! Quiet! Respect your betters!

Momo: How is it that the writer deserves my respect?! Huh, Mamushi?!

Ryoma: Kaidou-senpai's right, Momo-senpai. The writer could suddenly decide to make you drink all the pitchers of new improved Inui Juice from now on.

Momo: Ah…Hehe…I didn't mean any disrespect, awesome writer person. So please don't kill me off early on.

Fuji: Don't worry she won't.

Momo: How do you know that?

Fuji: She told me. (Smiles mysteriously. But does that look any different from his usual smile?)

Ryoma: Fuji-senpai, why are there antennas on your head?

Fuji: Oh this? (Pulls off antennas)

Momo and Kaidou: Ahhh!!

Fuji: I made it myself. See. (Holds up headband with a pair of chopsticks taped onto it.)

Ryoma: Heh. Not bad Fuji-senpai.

Eiji: Hoi hoi! Hey listen to this everyone! (Clears throat.) Apparently the writer is currently deciding which girl to pair up with which guy. So now's the time to petition for the girl you wanna end up with.

Momo: EH?! Really?!

Eiji: Hoi hoi! I want to be paired up with Midori-chan!

Everyone: Ehhh!!

Momo: Are you serious, Eiji-senpai?!

Inui: Somehow my data is failing me. The chances of his being serious are supposed to be only 20 percent but at the moment it seems to be 99.9 percent.

Momo: Then what's the missing 0.1 percent for then?

Inui: It's his chances of forgetting this conversation and therefore officially not being serious just then.

Eiji: Oi! So mean! I'm serious! She's so pretty and cute! Like a cat, nya!

Ryoma: I don't think so, Senpai.

Eiji: That's because you think your cat is the basis of catdom. It's a raccoon, nya!

Ryoma: A raccoon! Senpai! Karupin! (Turns into his chibi form. Ready to burst into tears.)

Eiji: Fine forget what I just said but I still wanna be paired up with Midori-chan. You better remember that writer-san!

Fuji: I think being paired up with Kana-chan sounds good.

Tezuka: You don't mean my sister, do you?

Fuji: Saa…

--

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Haha! I know, I know. The backstage part doesn't really belong in the story so just treat it as some sort of bizarre spin-off. I wasn't going to put it in the first place but I just couldn't help myself!


	2. Chapter Two

Yay! I finished chapter 2! Hope you guys enjoy it!

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Chapter Two

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"Everybody sit down," Tezuka commanded. The members of Seigaku immediately took their seats on the side reserved for Musashi Gakuen.

"Say, isn't this already the semi-finals?" Momo asked.

"Yes, it is, Momoshiro. I already said so the other day," Ryuzaki-sensei said.

"So we're watching because the level should be quite good because they're already in the semi-finals?" Momo asked again.

"I hope so," Ryuzaki-sensei answered again.

"Why are their semi-finals much later than those for the boys division?"

Ryuzaki-sensei was obviously quite annoyed.

"Because it is, idiot! Fshuu!"

"Who are you calling idiot, Mamushi?!"

"Kaidou, Momoshiro, stop arguing!" Tezuka's command was law, so the two Seigaku regulars promptly shut up.

"Finally," Ryuzaki-sensei exhaled.

"Hoi! The game's gonna start. Doubles 2! It's Fujika-chan and her partner! What is the partner's name again?!" Eiji exclaimed all in one breath.

Inui was more than glad to be of use. "Ki Junko. First year. Height 157.2 cm. Quiet personality. Gets annoyed easily when there are talkative people around such as her doubles partner Fujikage Madoka. Fujikage Madoka. First Year. Height 160 cm. Very energetic."

"Inui, you don't have to describe them to us. We only wanted to know her name," Oishi said, shaking his head.

"SHhh!! Jun-chan is serving!" Eiji yelled.

The quiet Ki Junko was as silent as ever as she bounced the yellow ball up and down. Then tossing the ball high up, she swung her racket and hit a service ace.

"15-0!"

"Did you see that?! Was that service ace as fast as I think it was?" Oishi asked.

"Yeah. That was fast. Especially for a girl!" Eiji said, rubbing his eyes in disbelief.

"Ehem!" Maya cleared her throat. "In case you haven't noticed, we GIRLS are sitting right next to you!"

"Ahh…hehe…gomen, Maya-chan. I didn't mean it that way. It's just that most girls just aren't that strong. Well, what I mean to say is…" Eiji tried to make amends.

"It is scientifically proven that women are often physically weaker than men," Inui began.

"I know. I know. But don't forget, we can hear you!" Maya said.

"Hai-hai!" Eiji was relieved.

"40-0!"

"What?! Already! She already served thrice?"

"Game Musashi Gakuen!" Fujika was jumping up and down in happiness. Junko was still standing still, simply quiet.

"Wow! A love game!" Horio yelled. "They're good!"

"Look it's the other team's turn!" Eiji said.

"That girl seems huge! Her tennis must be really strong!" Momo observed.

"0-15! Musashi Gakuen leads!"

"Hoi! They got it. Jun-chan hit it back with a drop volley."

"That's not a very easy thing to do. Drop volley immediately especially when hitting a very strong ball," Oishi observed.

"What can I say, they're good," Maya cut in. "And besides, you've seen nothing yet. Until now, only Junko has been moving around."

"I see. Good ball control. She gives them the ball in such a way that it will get returned to the ideal spot for her to hit it back," Oishi said.

"Tezuka Zone?!" Horio yelled.

"No, no," Oishi corrected, "unlike the Tezuka Zone, she still has to run a little but the ball is returned so that Fujikage-san doesn't need to get it. But I've got to admit, Ki Junko is really strong—far above the usual middle school female players."

"Game Musashi Gakuen!"

"It's a 2-0 game count!" Eiji yelled again. He was most definitely in high spirits.

"Game Musashi Gakuen!"

"Game Musashi Gakuen!"

"Ooohh…!! Sugoi! They're good, ne Oishi?!"

"Aa. But actually it's pretty much only Ki-san who's doing the ball-fetching. Fujikage-san hasn't even moved an inch since the start of the match. Why is she letting Ki-san get all the balls?"

"Good question," Maya said, "Just watch. You'll find out soon."

"WHOA!" Loud murmurs erupted from the bystanders.

Oishi rubbed his eyes in bewilderment, just as the others around him were doing. "Did Fujikage-san just disappear from her side of the court and reappear on the other side?"

"She moved so quickly, Hoi!" Eiji cheered. "Go Fujika-chan!"

"But what did she do that for?" Oishi mused.

"Just watch," Maya ordered.

Madoka suddenly reappeared at her initial spot and hit the ball that was supposedly hit to an empty spot. Her sudden appearance in that position was unaccounted for in their opponent's ball-reading skills and they gained a point.

"Game Musashi Gakuen! Three games to love!"

"They're winning but why did she do that just now?" Momo asked.

"Ah! I see. It's psychological pressure."

"Huh? What do you mean by that Oishi-senpai?"

"See. Watch what they're doing. Right now it's back to Ki-san doing all the hitting and Fujikage-san is once more in a stationary position. But the opponent seems to be eyeing Fujikage-san while trying to return Ki-san's difficult shots. They're distraction makes it easier for Ki-san to manipulate the balls. Then—there it is again!"

"Hoi! That's right. You don't know when Fujikage-san is going to hit. And the other team doesn't even seem to realize it and even if they do it would still be hard to undo their bodies' reactions to the pressure. It's brilliant, nya!"

"Afffirmative. That is an excellent explanation, Eiji." Inui said, "Ii data. The possibility of a mumble mumble mumble…."

"Game Musashi Gakuen!"

"Nice one Jun-chan, Fujika-chan!" Eiji hollered.

Madoka turned to wave at her team and the Seigaku team while Junko merely turned her head slightly then turned back to face the net.

"Those two are really polar opposites. Ne Oishi?" Eiji commented turning to look at his doubles partner.

Oishi nodded.

"Match point!" Momo yelled out excitedly.

Maya suddenly stood up and left the courts, cake in tow.

"Huh? Where is Maya-chan going?" Eiji asked.

"I want milk with my cake," Maya said calmly.

"Game and match! Musashi Gakuen!"

Junko and Madoka slowly walked back to the benches. They hadn't even broken into a sweat.

Rei stood up and stretched her arms. "Looks like it's our turn, Rui."

Rui nodded and stood up as well. "Looks like Buchou is leaving this to us, but I really do hope her cake is alright."

Rei shivered. "I really do hope nothing bad happens to that cake!"

The rest of Musashi nodded vigorously except for Junko who was still as quiet and still emotionless as ever and Murasaki Midori-sama who felt it was beneath her to do so.

Seigaku sweatdropped. "Just what exactly happens between that cake and the team?" they all thought at the same time.

Rei and Rui docilely strolled onto the court together and stood side by side at the baseline.

"Double baseliners?" Inui cackled with glee, "Ii data."

"What exactly are you writing, Inui-senpai?" Ryoma asked curiously eyeing the notebook labeled Musashi Gakuen Data Notebook 2 on its cover.

"Nishimura Rui. Second year. Height: 168.2cm. Favorite color: yellow. Calm and composed. A rational thinker. Best friend: Nishiura Rei. General tennis style: baseliner. Specific type: currently unknown."

"Nishiura Rei. Second year. Height: 164.9cm. Favorite color: violet. Dramatic and easy-going. Easily-excited. Best friend: Nishimura Rui. General tennis style: baseliner. Specific type: currently unknown."

Ryoma sweatdropped. He hadn't expected something so…specific. Not really knowing what to reply to his upperclassman's strange answer he opted for the easiest thing to say. "Mada mada dane, Inui-senpai."

The match was totally in favour of Musashi Gakuen. The other team's doubles 1 pair could not even catch up.

The match had already finished with a score of 6-0 and Maya had yet to return.

"What's taking Buchou so long?" Rei anxiously asked.

Rui checked her watch and said, "It's been thirty minutes since she left."

"Don't worry she'll be fine," Midori said with a flip of her hair.

"I don't think it's her we have to worry about Murasaki Midori-sama," Madoka said.

Beside her Junko nodded.

"You mean it's the..?" Momo asked worriedly.

The girls nodded solemnly. "The cake."

"Who—Ah! Tezuka-buchou's imouto-san!" Horio yelled in surprise. In truth, all the people from Seigaku had nearly forgotten that she was there. She was just as silent as her older brother.

Tezuka Kaname spoke again, still as laconic as ever. "Nishikawa. Your turn." Fumi, who looked like she was sound asleep suddenly sat up; the people of Seigaku all nearly suffered heart attacks—even Tezuka and Inui who never seemed to be afraid of anything.

"Hai, Tezuka-fukubuchou." Fumi stood up and drew her racket out of her bag.

"Murasaki-senpai, please warm up." Kaname said.

"Hmph! Do you mean to say that Fumi-chan will lose?!"

Kaname being a Tezuka merely said, "Yudan sezu ni iko."

"Hmph! Fine!" Midori stomped off to do her warm-ups.

"Nya! She's just so cute! Ne, Oishi? Mi-chan's so cute right?"

"Uh…I guess so, Eiji." Oishi did not want to make a fuss out of it so he agreed, thinking that Eiji just didn't have his head screwed on right sometimes.

"There is a 100 percent chance that Oishi does not really agree with Eiji and just says that because he does not want to bother others." Inui's head suddenly popped up between the Golden Pair. Oishi jumped nearly a foot into the air and Eiji was next spotted sitting on Fuji with his arms wrapped tightly around the tensai's head while shrieking his head off.

"Saa, I didn't think you loved me that much, Eiji," Fuji said.

"NYA! FUJIKO! SO MEAN! TEASING ME WHEN YOU KNOW IT'S ALL INUI'S FAULT. HE DOES THE PHANTOM REAPPEARANCE!"

Fumi passed in front of Eiji then suddenly stopped walking. "Eiji-senpai. You should stop that. It'll make me wake up on the wrong side of the bed." Her sleepy face caused Eiji to stop shrieking his head off from fear and hurt; instead he started yelling out loud. "She's just so cute, nya! Will you be my pet bear?! Will you, will you?"

"Eiji," Oishi chided, trying to hush up his boisterous friend.

"Eiji-senpai, what do want a pet bear for? Fsshuu…" Everyone turned to look at Kaidou, who had surprised them with his statement.

Eiji did not seem to notice the strangeness of Kaidou's asking him a question that seemed so un-Kaidou-like and answered, "Why to hug and feed chocolates to, nya!"

"Eiji-senpai, isn't it bad to feed your pets chocolate?" Ryoma asked.

"Bears eat anything nya! So it's okay!"

"Eiji-senpai," Fumi said.

"Nani?" Eiji stopped squealing in glee and inquisitively cocked his head to one side.

"Please stop. I will really wake up on the wrong side of the bed if you don't."

"Nya, what does that even mean? You're already awake. Umpf!" Momo's hand was covering Eiji's mouth. And it was only then that Eiji noticed the girls of Musashi looking at him. Rei was waving her hands up and down and shaking her head wildly as if she was truly desperate for Eiji to shut up.

"Domo senpai." Fumi thanked him sleepily then very slowly walked towards the court.

When everyone was sure that Eiji would be out of Fumi's hearing range, Momo let go of Eiji. The acrobatic tennis player asked, "What's so bad about it, nya?"

Rui answered in a smooth voice, "That's not her awake mode. She's still practically asleep. She won't remember a single word spoken while in her asleep mode. She can reply or react during her asleep mode but her awake mode doesn't register it."

"But what's so bad about that, Rui-san?" Momo asked. He did not understand as well but knew that there must be some bizarre reason.

"If she wakes up for a reason other than hearing a tennis ball smashing onto the court, she turns very cranky. She wakes up and gives blood-freezing glares and evil vibes for a whole day. It may not sound like much, but personally being on the receiving end of one of those glares, I recommend that you tread lightly when she is asleep."

Rei nodded. So vigorously in fact that it looked like her brains might get scrambled up in her head.

Momo leaned down to whisper to Ryoma, "Is it just me or are these girls just weird or what?"

Ryoma pulled his cap lower and said, "Mada mada dane, Momo-senpai."

Momo looked up to see Rei and Madoka glaring at him, Rui and Junko staring at him while seemingly giving off dark auras, and Kaname giving him a piercing look that seemed to say "You are barbaric. Keep your mouth shut." "Ah..hehe…" he scratched the back of his head. "I was hoping you wouldn't hear that."

"Boys!" Rei hissed. "They alw—" She suddenly stopped talking and shuddered. The rest of Musashi with her shuddered as well. As if on cue, the girls of Musashi all turned around and saw Maya approaching with a wide smile pasted onto her face.

"This—is—NOT—good," Rei said, clearly afraid.

"Hn," Kaname agreed. The other girls nodded.

Maya finally reached the benches—empty-handed.

"Buchou! You're finally back." Rei looked around nervously.

Maya's smile stayed the same. "Yes, some things happened along the way. Oh look! Fumi's done."

"HUH?" Everyone turned to look at the courts, and they were all surprised to find Fumi's side empty. They all looked around and finally spotted her back in her seat curled up sleeping again. "Saa. That was fast," Fuji said. Everyone nodded.

"So what took you so long, Maya-senpai?" If stupidity or denseness was a disease it was definitely contagious. First Eiji then Momo. Ryoma shook his head and muttered, "You shouldn't have said that Momo-senpai."

"Nande?" Momo asked scratching his head.

"Fsshuu! Just shut the hell up!"

"What did you say, Mamushi?!"

"Ah! Momo, would you mind so much if you bought me more cake."

"Ah! Why? What happened to the other one?"

Ryoma managed to placed his hands over Momo's mouth before he could say anything even dumber. Unfortunately the damage was already done. Maya's eyes took on a dangerous glint—very different from her previously friendly harmless-looking gaze.

"Uh-oh. Senpai, you just sentenced yourself to weeks or months of hell," Ryoma said, quickly running away and hiding behind the other Seigaku members. Everyone but Momo immediately stepped back after Ryoma's comment. Even Tezuka did not care to be included in the evil punishment Maya looked ready to dole out.

"What did I do?" Momo must have eaten something rotten that morning because he was even slower to understand than usual. Even Kaidou was getting worried for his teammate-slash-rival whom he was obviously supposed to hate.

"Fshh…just shut up!"

"Why should…I…? Maya-senpai?"

"Momo, you will buy me cake now and I expect to find one from you for everyday my team has a match." Maya's face was calm and smooth—a sharp contrast to her eyes which held a furious look that could have vaporized a cube of ice or reduced Momo to ashes if the author (That's me!) hadn't suddenly taken pity on the poor clueless guy. Actually, the cause of his salvation was that Maya was slightly startled, and therefore distracted from the object which she wished to throttle, by a low commanding voice that swiftly barked out the order to "run 50 extra laps during the next practice."

Momo who hadn't even seemed to realize why Maya was giving him murderous looks finally understood somewhat that he had done something to displease her, resulting in his buchou giving him extra laps as punishment for bothering others and destroying everyone else's sense of safety and well-being.

"What's going on? Maya?" Midori came jogging back to the benches and after taking one look at Maya quickly ceased inquiring and immediately took a seat beside Kaname, on the side furthest away from Maya. Kaname took a glance at her and stayed silent.

Maya who still hadn't fully vented out her anger said in a calm-sounding voice, "Murasaki, run 10 laps around the whole park."

Midori heard her buchou refer to her by her surname and silently stood up and ran off without any comment, knowing fully that Maya only called people by their surnames without honorifics attached when she was ready to annihilate all the people within a ten foot radius just by giving off super-evil-blood-freezing vibes. She left with a slightly guilty conscience knowing that she was leaving the others to their imminent departure from the living world.

Luckily for everyone left behind—which was everyone except Midori—Tezuka announced that Momo should run 50 more laps after the extra 50 he had already been assigned earlier. This seemed to alleviate the mood since the Musashi girls all let out relieved sighs, signaling to Seigaku that the worst was over and Maya was once more safe to be around—that is, for everyone but Momo.

"Huh?" Momo was still as slow-witted as ever and numbly consented to Rei's and Rui's dragging him away to buy more cake for "Maya-buchou".

Ryoma shook his head and pulled his cap lower. "Mada mada dane, Momo-senpai."

"I see you're still going on about that mada mada thing. It annoys the hell out of me and you know it. What exactly is it with you Echizens and mada mada's?"

"Mada mada da—"

"Ryoma-_kun_, how would you like me to pay a visit to Aunt Rinko so that I can tell her about that incident two years ago?"

"Mad—Nee-san, that's what you always say!"

"Yeah, and I always do what I say I will."

"Not fair, Nee-san. How about I tell Aunt Mari about the—"

"Wait, Maya-chan knows Ochibi's family?!" Eiji asked, eager for some new gossip.

Maya and Ryoma who had forgotten about the others both turned their heads to look at Eiji and at the same moment said, "We're cousins."

EH?! Everyone was surprised except for Ryuzaki-sensei and Tezuka, who already knew from his sister who did in fact say more than one-word sentences when they were in private. Inui was scribbling madly onto his data notebook labeled "Takeuchi Maya". Fuji saw it and smiled even wider. "Echizen sure has interesting relatives."

--

--

Backstage:

Ryoma: Senpai-tachi, why are you all crowding around there?

Eiji: Hoi hoi! Ochibi, come see nya! Fuji got some news from the writer!

Fuji: Oh, Echizen. See here. Writer-san said that you get to be paired up with Osakada-san.

Everyone: EH?!

Eiji: Is Writer-san really that cruel nya? To put Ochibi and Tomoka-chan together!

Ryoma: Yadda! Fuji-senpai that's a lie!

Tezuka: Fuji. Do not tell such lies.

Fuji: (turns to look at Tezuka) You win Tezuka. But your expressions were all so funny!

Inui: Ii data…

Momo: Fuji-senpai, what does it really say?

Fuji: It says that you'll probably be paired up with either Rei or Rui or neither one because the writer hates you and thinks you're weird. But since she doesn't really hate you she's still thinking about it.

Oishi: I don't think that made sense, Fuji.

Tezuka: That's right. His statements were contradictory.

Ryoma: Say, Buchou. Why are you more talkative in this chapter's backstage scene.

Inui: Ii data. Slipping some of my Inui Hyper Speed Talking Smoothie into Tezuka's water proves that my prototype for my speed-talking remix affects even the quietest of people. This will prove to be quite effective. The writer will surely thank me for speeding up the talking so that we can say more in a shorter span of time.

Tezuka: Inui, 30 laps for slipping in substances of unknown origin and content into my water without permission. 40 laps for slipping in substances of unknown side effects into my water. And 50 laps for slipping using this to gain favor with the writer—bribery.

Eiji: It really works, nya. But didn't it have to be tasteless for Buchou to drink it without suspecting.

Inui: (pushes his gleaming glasses up his nose) The taste was thoroughly adjusted for this purpose.

Eiji & Oishi: Nani?!

Oishi: So you can give us your juice without causing us to collapse?!

Eiji: That's so mean nya!

Fuji: Then it would make our practices less interesting. But back to Writer-san's announcement. Since she likes Eiji, she's decided to grant his wish.

Eiji: HOI! Midori-chan! YAY! (jumps up and down and up and down and…in excitement)

Fuji: She also says that she thinks Ryoma is still too young and too dense to pair up with a girl. She says that she'll end up pitying the girl that she does pair up with Ryoma, and it will annoy her to no end so Ryoma is safely not paired with Osakada-san.

Oishi: What kind of joke is that Fuji?

Inui: Ii data…

Fuji: Kaidou is safely kept away from crazy Musashi girls. He will one day end up with a nice girl who isn't crazy. Writer-san says this because she thinks that she won't ever write about Kaidou's love life so she's saying it now.

Kaidou: Fshhuu…the writer is thoughtful…Fshuu.

Momo: What a suck-up! (snicker)

Kaidou: Shut up! At least the writer doesn't threaten to kill me every few minutes.

Momo: What did you say Mamushi?!

(The two start bickering and get pushed into the background)

Fuji: Tezuka does end up with a girl, though she won't say who. It says here that she wants Tezuka to figure it out himself because he's really smart and everyone knows it.

Ryoma: What about you Fuji-senpai?

Fuji: Saa…maybe I should really ask her to pair me up with Kana-chan.

Momo: What? (Grabs sheet of paper Fuji is holding.) It's not written here. Wait. This is in Fuji-senpai's hand-writing. Why is that?

Eiji: Ah! Fuji tricked us! No! Midori-chan! Why?!

Fuji: I told you it's from Writer-san. She told me to write it down, but since I already know who I'm to be paired up with I didn't write it down anymore.

Eiji: Fuji! We want to know who! Is it Kana-chan?! Is it?! Is it?! (Violently shakes Fuji back and forth)

Fuji: Saa…(Smiles wider while Eiji is still shaking him back and forth)

(Everyone fades into the background but Tezuka)

Tezuka: Writer-san. Please do not let Fuji end up with my imouto. I want to live the rest of my life peacefully. Being his brother-in-law is not a way to live life peacefully.

(Fuji suddenly appears, head emerging from behind Tezuka's shoulder)

Fuji: Sorry, Tezuka. But I think I'm Writer-san's favorite character.

(Tezuka glares at Fuji. Fuji smiles back as usual.)

Eiji: Hey! I thought I'm Writer-san's favorite!

Fuji: Saa…

--

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I just love adding that backstage stuff! It's so fun when nothing makes much sense!

Reviews! I do write faster when I get them!


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